Con: City should invest in other projects; policing dogs could be an issue

When it comes to building a dog park in Victoria, there is not a strong opposition, but there is concern.

Dog parks may be popular and wanted, but Krystal Flores, a 28-year-old mother and Victoria resident, feels the city has other projects it should attack that are more pressing.

"I think there are so many other things the town can spend its money on," Flores said.

Flores used to live on a base in Kansas with a dog park. At this particular dog park, several dogs contracted canine parvovirus, she said. While the dog park had its signs with rules and regulations, not everyone abided.

Not everyone vaccinates their dogs, she said. She is also concerned about dogs who are more dominant and prone to get into fights. There is no way to adequately control this, she said.

Flores, who has a dog for her children, said those reasons alone make her wary of ever going into one.

"There are other places you could take your dogs," she said. "I wouldn't want my kids around that."

One of the bigger issues she wants the city to tackle is to fix some of the roads damaged from Eagle Ford Shale activity. Also, as a volunteer for Warrior's Weekend, she would like to see the city help the organization move its Field of Honor to a larger field.

These are just some examples, she said.

Shana Bohac, a veterinarian at Hillcrest Animal Hospital, is not against a dog park but stresses the importance of maintenance, rules and regulations.

"There is always going to be people who don't follow the rules," she said. "But the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages."

Dog parks do carry risks for dog fights and diseases, but the risk is everywhere. Exercise for dogs is important, and socializing dogs with others is also important to growth for both the owner and the dog.

Rudy Guerrero, a Victoria father and resident, sees both sides of the argument and has a more mutual approach.

He would like the city to invest in the area around the splash pad off Airline Road. As a father involved in baseball, he would like to see the money go first to the youth of the community by building better baseball fields.

"I feel that Victoria would become known as a baseball town, and our teams, like the Jaguars, Pirates and Generals, would attract a lot more attention from the kids that come," he said.

Once the baseball fields are built, he could see the city building a dog park off the fields.

"That way, we'd kind of be killing two birds with one stone," he said.